Daimler close to revising its German sales network

The parent company of Mercedes-Benz has reached a deal with its works’ council on the decision to overhaul the network of retail outlets it owns.

Daimler said the company agreed to provide job guarantees for the dealership staff until 2023. The automaker has been revising its home market network of sales outlets – around 160 “Own Retail” Mercedes dealerships – as they make up around 50% of the brand’s deliveries in Germany.

The automaker announced plans to sell about 40 of them to privately owned dealerships. The announcement caused Daimler employees to set up a protest in Stuttgart in April as they feared the move could potentially endanger jobs.

According to a spokeswoman for the works’ council, the labor unions fear that staff terms would be changed were mitigated. Now, the employees that work for the soon to be sold dealerships are allowed to return to Daimler. They also received 10-year guarantees for their company pension contributions.

Mercedes-Benz, racing to recapture the top spot among the world’s premium automakers, has been battling a dip in the revenue it makes from sales, aiming to reach a 10% goal. The Mercedes-Benz Cars division, which includes Smart as a subsidiary, has raised the return on sales from 6.6% last year to 7.9% in the second quarter.

The British supercar marquee, renowned both for its constant financial troubles as well as performance-oriented and lightweight models, has recently unveiled the 2015 Evora 400 model, which now officially debuted during the Geneva motor show.
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